14 Days in Italy for Honeymoon - Help with itinerary? First trip!

Congrats on your honeymoon! We are spending ours there in September for three weeks also. :-)

So a few questions: what time of year are you going? Have you been to Europe before? What are your interests (aside from the wine)?

As far as Siena vs Florence..... You will get many opinions here. I personally think that they are very different but I love them both for different reasons. As for wine country, you will find great wine anywhere in this region. It just depends what kinds of wine you like as to where you should visit.

Lastly, I would swap the Cinque Terre for the Amalfi Coast. It is simply amazing and the most Devine place on earth. Period.

So you're going to laugh but we're looking to do it this September hopefully if we can still get things booked. We've been doing research for a month and just haven't pulled the trigger after wavering b/w France and Italy. One of us has been to Europe once; the other 3 times. We chose CT due to proximity

Ps: if you want to split a gondola, we'll see you in Venice lol

Pps: congrats on the honeymoon as well!!!

Love it! You can still do it and do it well. You may not get every location that you want but you can do it. We land it Venice August 30th and will be there for a few nights. Then off to the Dolomites, Lake Garda, Tuscany and Umbria then down the Amalfi Coast before ending in Rome.

You can do your itinerary still. The CT tends to be busy and the towns are so small that it makes it unpleasant if it's really busy, as opposed to area that is larger and can disperse the crowds better.

Pm me if you would like some specific hotel recommendations. :-)

First of all, congratulations!!!

A few suggestions that come to mind.....

• Where are you travelling from? As you might remember, you'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart, and you probably won't get much done on arrival day due to jet lag.
• Venice - 2 complete days would be good.
• Florence - you might consider adding one day to Florence and dropping one from the Cinque Terre. You could use the extra day to either explore Florence further or take a day trip to Pisa, Lucca or whereever.
• Cinque Terre - for travel in September, it would be a good idea to get some accommodations booked SOON! If you can't find anything in Vernazza, try Monterosso and then the other towns (leave Corniglia for last). Regarding "walking" between the towns, that will only be possible in a limited way. At the present time, only the Sentiero Azzurro trails from Monterosso to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia are open and that's not likely to change by September. The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso (Park Pass required) is not exactly a "walk" but more of a "hike" in some parts.
• Rome - more time would be better, but three days will be adequate if you tour efficiently.

I'd suggest staying with the Cinque Terre rather than the Amalfi Coast, as it fits better with your overall route.

Happy travels!

April - thank you so much for the information ! Your trip sounds incredible! It really hurt to cut Amalfi from ours and it's the #1 spot for us next time we make it over there. Will definitely pm you

Ken,
We appreciate your thorough breakdown! As you suggested, we will be booking ASAP at CT since we have our dates set today. We were unsure about Rome being too short (we actually have about 3.5 days) but we decided we valued the more laid back Tuscany/CT time. Good tips! Thanks!

PK,

In Vernazza ( the CT region ), try:

http://www.elisabettacarro.it/

great view / clean rooms / lots of steps!
Happy Honeymoon!

Congrats on your coming nuptials and what will be an awesome trip!

A few additional thoughts for your planning, based on what you said:
- Venice: We had read all the comments that a day or two was enough. We spent 3 nights, with two full days (after arrivals/departures). We actually wished we had spent more time in Venice and less in Rome. It's so wonderful to explore on foot, without worrying about being run over by a car or scooter. Shops, restaurants, sights. A very romantic town and perfect for honeymooners.
- Siena vs. Florence: As was mentioned, very different, neither better, just different. We choose to base in Siena. We were coming from Rome and wanted to "slow down" a bit after the craziness that is Rome. We stayed at a beautiful B&B outside of the city. Great hospitality, but would have been nice for convenience to be in the old city. We did one day trip to Florence to hit the highlights, and decided to sacrifice more art and history for wine tours throughout Tuscany. You can't do it all :)

Bob, thanks for the link! We're looking into those - pretty views

Lee, glad you had such a nice experience in Venice. We love to just wander around a town and discover the secrets of it so sounds like Venice will be a perfect place to do that and relax. Thanks for your insight on that and everything else!

My first trip to Italy: we booked three nights in Venice. We ended up staying a third night because it just wasn't enough. Sienna is a great day trip by easy bus from Florence. One day in Rome is not enough, and two days would be better. If it were me, I would skip one of these places, but you know your energy level.

laurel

We did essentially the same trip four years ago in September and it was great! Three days in Venice makes it easier to fit in Murano/Burano/Torcello if those interest you. From Florence we did a Vespa tour that was a lot of fun (i don't remember the company, but looks like there are several out there) that went through the Tuscany country side and was a little different from the art/architecture. We did not make it to Sienna. We did a quick stop in Pisa on the trip from Cinque Terre to Florence. Have a great trip!

Congratulations! I'll throw in my comments from hearing that you don't want to feel rushed, along with other thoughts I interpreted from your posting:

Days 1-4: Venice Absolutely LOVE Venice! Be sure to wander away from the crowds to really enjoy it. And, the gondola ride in the evening is a must do.
Days 5-7 Lake Maggoire at Stresa or similar. Hiking available and a very beautiful, relaxed, honeymoon type location. I think you may enjoy it much more than the crowds of people at Cinque Terre.
Days 8-11 Florence - enjoy the city & participate in a cooking class
Day 12-14 Siena & day trip out to Montepulciano (wine). These locations will give you a feel of Italy in the Tucsany area. And, Siena is less expensive than Florence.

Fly back home from Florence

Save Rome for your future trip w/ the Amalfi Coast

Looks like the plan is coming together. Hope it's a lovely trip!

Just to add to Ken's post about the CT, the park info is confusing, and is not providing the same information on their English version as on the Italian. I'm using the Italian trail and map page as it's most complete:

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=1

On this chart/map they show the entire length of the Blue Trail (SVA Ex. n 2) as closed with the exception of the piece between Monterosso and Vernazza. I know for sure that the Via dell'Amore (between Manarola and Riomaggiore) is not expected to open again this year, and the section between Manarola and Corniglia has been closed for several years now.

That said, flexibility is needed for any hiking plans: - I say "hiking" versus "walking" as the trails are very steep in sections, and involve a lot of steps. It doesn't take more than just a heavy overnight downpour or some loosened rock to have to close a trail sometimes. But exploring the villages properly will provide a very nice workout if you end up having to use the train from one to another: the best views are from points above where the cemeteries often are.

Longer hikes are also possible outside of the #2: the map will show you which of them are open, which should be approached with caution, and which are closed.

Here is the English map/chart page:
http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=2